Sky Azure: A Legends Beginning
by Firadis
Summary: A young man leaves home to see the world, on the way he makes friends & dives into a world of adventure in which he becomes involved with more than he expected. War is raging & a group of individuals band together to tackle a foe of unmatched strength.
1. Chapter 1

I've lost it all, my honor, no longer remains with me, nor does my dignity. I stand alone on a path I chose and these are my consequences. I have no family, I have lost my friends.

Why me? Because of my rebellion towards the council; there choice on the matter was corrupt and unjust, only then did I take my stand for what I knew was right.

They have stripped me of my will to fight; they have taken it all, well almost that is. They haven't taken my thirst for revenge. This is the turning point, this is a revolution.

My name is Rayne I have been king of Ariaven for the past 27 years. My wife Rebecca and I have a son, Noch named after the nocturnal. He is to be the future king. Noch is just beginning his manhood and was turning his thirteenth year when I was sent away to exile.

Knowing the council Noch is probably being taught corrupt order. He I will correct, the time will come and he shall see the light even if it means his death.

Before my departure I sent my second son, Firadis with a family I knew from my childhood in hopes of protecting him from the council. He is unaware of who he is and is my first priority to find him and tell him of his title.

Only when the time comes will I reveal this to him for now I must stay low in the backcountry and regain power I have lost. My title may be gone but my reputation will stay with me to my dying days.

The man behind this chaos, is Mathias Gauncher, my advisor who turned against me in desire for power turned the political power against me. He clouded the council's eyes, then he molded them how he liked using them as leverage.

With this advantage he used them to exile me. Rebecca gave up her title as queen and stayed to try and protect Noch; even though it was futile she has still been a mother and cared for him since. I haven't heard from either of them since

After my exile, I ended up in a backwater country town called Timberwood. Here I began to start a rebellion; it didn't start off well. You see I had to convince the people about my cause since the council's news already reached the far reaches of the continent. After a while the people came about to see it my way; as weeks passed I began to give up. Packing my bags I decided to move to another town and begin recruiting there instead.

As I departed I was joined by a young lad by the name of Lance. Lance was a strong willed and determined, although he was in his adolescence he convinced me to take him along with me once I learned he was an orphan and that he had been a squire for a knight who lived in Timberwood until he passed from the plague.

Hearing this made me come to a decision that I would train him and together we would build our rebellion from the ground up. He was young active, and willing to learn, this made a good candidate; we then set off into the night in search for more men and women ready to serve for the just cause, to overthrow the corrupt government and restore Ariaven to its formal glory.


	2. Chapter 2

Names Cian, I live in a village called Oakwood. I am on my own, my mother died of the plague and my father left on a journey like the one I'm about to embark on; well he left and the

seasons past without any word of him.

After about four years, mother and I came to the conclusion that he wouldn't be coming back home. About a year later mother died; I was 7, my parents were well known in Oakwood so I

took up my parent's residence and have lived here ever since.

Many of the people here have always kept an eye on me ever since the incident, they're like my family. I work with them, I celebrate with them, and in time of sorrow I mourn with

them, it's the least I could do for the care they have shown me over the years.

Well it's been 10 years since, and I've decided to go out and see the world, go places and meet people. When it's time I'll come back… ya eventually if you know what I mean.

I guess the thought of leaving Oakwood came to me when I was going through some of our belongings; I came across a couple of father's books but one caught my eye. It was red

bound with black leather. I started reading, it told of a king of old, Rayne, and how he was banished from his own kingdom, how he started to win the hearts of the people and eventually

regained his kingdom.

Along the way he crossed paths with his second son, Firadis; whom he sent away so he would not be harmed when he was sent away. Well after reading the book I thought, "Do I

really want to live in Oakwood?" well no not really so this is where I am so far in my plan to get out quietly.

It was quiet through the village; the grass was fresh with dew, and a thin fog shrouded the streets. It had rained the previous night, during a thunderstorm, so the ground was damp,

the roads muddy. It was early morning and the store owners were up and unlocking their stores getting ready for a new day with hopes of better sells than the last past couple of days.

The inn on the other hand was already bustling, vagabonds and caravan sellers were coming out the doors to get an early start on the road.

By each minute Oakwood was coming alive as people woke and began about their business. After an hour or so the lights were out and the sun began to emerge from the mountain

tops. The light pierced the fog with beams of light as the seemingly dead village came alive, as the vibrant colors of the stalls and houses came to light. An old manor stood in between

that of two other old houses same in size. The dark colored wood began to be illuminated by the sunlight; it reached the windows on the first floor and crept up the side of the house

reaching the second set of windows above.

The light shone through the window panes and onto a red opaque carpet on the floor before reaching the head of a bed causing a young man to stir. Cian rolled onto his back,

stretched and threw the covers off himself as he rose to his feet. He squinted his eyes at the light shining through the window; dust could be seen floating in the light. Looking around the

room brought a sense of nostalgia; this was his parent's room not what seemed maybe a couple months ago but in reality much longer than this.

He walked over to a basin full of water and cupped his hands to bring water to his face. He looked up into a mirror positioned above the basin. A dark brown haired man with brown

eyes stared back. After drying his face he went over to his closet and grabbed a shirt and pants then head to the door dressing himself as he went. He walked down the hall, to a set of

stairs that spiraled down into the living quarters.

Making his way down he then walked across the living quarters and into the kitchen grabbed a morsel of bread sitting on the wooden table in the middle of the room and walked past

to the backdoor, glancing at a large sword that leaned against the wall next to the door. He then opened the door and stepped out into the sunlight; blinding him for a moment he

opened his drowsy eyes to see the regular busy street. People were bustling through town, being about their own business.

Today was his last day I would be in Oakwood. Tonight I would sneak out of the small town and head east to wherever his feet took him. He had no plan, but all he knew was he must

leave. He walked out across the street to a walkway beside a large blue building. He began to walk in between the barrels and crates that littered the wooden decks; today the caravans

were leaving to whatever town may be close by to see what they might sell. Then off to the unknown road they so often traveled. Most of the time a caravan traveled with company of 4

or 5; However the numbers increased to 7 or 8 being there a number of guards at their respective wagon, due to the fact that caravans were being attacked left and right by bandits.

Most of the time people would pay no mind, yes bandits are just part of the risk of traveling; but what had everyone worried was that the attacks had almost tripled in the last month, this

was extremely unusual and the travelers had to be more cautious than ever.

This year's travelers was a small number, maybe 3 wagons total had visited Oakwood this mid autumn. Maybe the other travelers had found that a being blacksmith or any other

occupation would be more promising not only money wise but they valued their lives more than a couple of goods to be transported here and there.

I respect the caravans that brave the roads at this time; they were always the excitement that came to Oakwood. Especially after a year's worth of hard work and harvest; the people of

Oakwood always looked forward to seeing the wagons enter in the town and fill up the inns. They always brought new item and goods which always kept the people on their toes to see

what they might bring next year.

A loud yell awoke Cian from his thoughts and he looked across down the street to see a man yelling for him; "Cian! Where have you been?! You were supposed to be here more than

thirty minutes ago!"

"I'm sorry Mr. Gambr-"but he was cut off by the man as he ran to him. Mr. Gambrick an old man who had Cian and Fynn his closest friend work for him in the lumber yard. He loathed the

man but he didn't want to work elsewhere so he just tolerated the uncontrolled anger and frustration Mr. Gambrick most likely was born with. He would always imagine him and Fynn

knocking the old man upside the head with a club and dragging his unconscious body into the dung pile. Cian had always been reckless, doing things regardless of the

consequences. How the people put up with him and Fynn he might never know.

He snapped back to reality as he was asked by the angry man, "And where's that friend of yours? Fynn is it? You had better find him and bring him back here or I ain't payin you I don't

pay to have slackers on my watch! Now go find him!"

"yes sir' Cian replied.

He then ran off down another street into the more busy parts of town.


	3. Chapter 3

The alarm sounded, we were off shift for guard duty, but it had been the first sign of action for the whole 49 hours we had been up watching the orange horizon. Soldiers were jumping off the

ground discarding their blankets and bags to the side of the room and running through the door to the outer wall.

We kept all of our armor on since the chance of a surprise attack, so the sleep wasn't too great. We rushed out the set of double doors into the halls, scrambling up the stairs while fumbling with

our armor to ensure it was fastened.

Faint sound from outside could be heard, we were close. Farther down the hall a commander was yelling for us to hurry to our stations.

We busted out of another set of double doors, to the sound of war to greet us this glorious evening. Fighting is what we live for. It is what we do best. Some of us be mercenaries, scouts,

soldiers, ye knights were among us. It didn't matter who or what you did but this sound had grown to familiar with us; we in our minds drooled with anticipation for the chance to thrust our sword

into flesh proving the better man. To stand above all and yell with triumph as your enemies flee before you.

A man adorned in brightly colored armor motioned to me, "Keith! Take your men go to the frontlines and enclose the sides. We need to channel the foe back out and across the hills. Make more

ground! Understand?!" he said in a hard stone tone.

"Yes Sir, tis what we do best!"

"Then go and enjoy your blood bath! Har Har! Those bastards finally came back, here's our chance to swat a bothersome fly! Finish the rest of them like we should have long ago. GO!"

And with that I yelled and motioned to the men; on we ran sliding down the ladders set against the walls. Then over the barricades like a herd of stampeding wildebeest we rushed on with loud

yells.

We reached the back of the army formation they spread to make way for us, closing back up behind as we went. Arrows like black ravens, agents of death soared over head and into a mass

of soldiers. We came to an embankment but at the top I caught a glimpse of the enemy, maybe 400 or so by the number. They were retreating back as our forces gained ground steadily, but not

fast enough. As we came back down into the crowd we could only see a black and red banner in front of us, the empire. A sign all of us knew, for it had been a thorn in our side for years.

Finally we broke through the front lines yelling we rushed the enemy, running straight into the midst with mob mentality. The enemy had looks of horror as men jumped in their midst slashing,

kicking and impaling anyone they could get their hands on. An imperial commander yelled, "Retreat!"

This meant nothing to us. The enemy turned and ran scrambling up the hills in an effort to escape the massive wave of death rushing through their lines.

We worked as a single unit, never passing an enemy without disemboweling them and rushing on to take out the closest man next in line. It was a slaughter house, we mowed them down.

We had been chasing them for what seemed like an hour when a horn blew in the distance, it was our call to return. Giving a final roar we turned and reformed with the rest of the army and we

marched on to the castle.

Bodies scattered the battle field. Scouts stayed behind and piled up the bodies, setting fire to them creating pillars of fire. Black smoke billowed from the hills into a crimson sky. An eerie sight, but

common for this area of work. After a few minutes of marching our enthusiasm died down and we began to think of food. Our stomachs growled, we hadn't eaten for half a day. The exhaustion

reached us as we thought of this tiny pleasure. We became sick to our stomachs and eager to push to the front.

The great doors opened at the wall. We were greeted by cheers from men on the wall and in two towers on either side of the entrance to the massive city. The castle sat right next to the wall

with a mountain at its back. Now in this mountain there was a temple which had been carved into the mountain ages ago. Only a select few had ever entered the temple, it was some sort of holy

place. The King often entered there with a few other people, the King's soothsayers, and other important men like that.

A commander stood on a house in front of us in the street, "You are all free to do as you wish, today is a victory and we deserve a day off. Return tomorrow evening."

With that he disappeared from the rooftop. We all looked at each other. Some of us walked off to different parts of the city; probably to visit family or friends. Of the one who stayed in the street,

we had one thought in our head. There were only two pubs in the vast city, one on the south side and the eastern side. We all knew the pubs couldn't hold hundreds of men.

With that in mind we were posed ready for somebody to move. A soldier began to inch toward the inner part of the city. All noticed and it began we all ran like a mad mob as fast as we could.

The soldier was trampled underneath the feet of hundreds of men. Safe because the armor he picked himself off the ground shaking and slinked of into an alley.

The people all ran into their home, they could hear the roar of men yelling, and a deafening sound, suits of armor clanking through the streets. The group of us who wore lighter armor than the

hoplites climbed onto the roofs and began jumping from house to house.

We were ants in a maze of white buildings, a soldier grabbed my pauldron and I pushed him off the side of the roof down into the street to be trampled by the oncoming mob.

On I ran with a group of other men. We jumped roofs rolling on impact. Laughing Keith jumped building to building punching and kicking other men out of his way or when they grabbed him.

A larger gap come to view and he backed up t get a running star as others just ran ahead and fell short of the jump yelping with surprise as they fell. He ran and jumped off the edge of the house

he stretched his body out as far as he could. He grabbed the ledge of the building but as he did another man grabbed his waist trying to climb him to reach the top. He lost his grip due to the

excessive weight. They dropped down into an alley.

Using the soldier as a semi soft landing he got up his head was throbbing from a blow he recieved from the soldier's helm; and looked down the alley, there was too many people running down

the street to join in or risk being trampled. He saw a door in front of him and he kicked it in. It was an abandoned house and he ran through it knocking old furniture to the side and opening

doors. Room through room he ran until he came through a door into the street again.

Most of the masses hadn't reached this far and he took advantage and ran down the street. His sides were burning, as if on fire. The pub was in view; far down the street a group of men pushing

each other were in front of a large three story pub and inn.

Glancing behind himself he saw the mob not far behind him; maybe a hundred or so feet behind him. He sprinted as hard as he could. The thought of mead and a roast came to mind and he gave

himself a burst of energy as he ran down the street.

The front f the pub was vacant, all the men had already entered. The barkeep was rushing to the front doors to close them as he saw the mass rush toward the dwarfed building. Keith

noticing this ran and a couple of feet from the door dove through the air straight as an arrow hell bent on getting through the door. His feet cleared the doors by a inch as the doors were

slammed closed behind him. He rolled on the floor, rolled on his back gasping for air as a soldier walked up and gave him a hand up.

"Th… thanks" he gasped. He looked outside to see the mass run past the pub around a corner and towards the eastern part of the city. Some men stayed behind, lying in the street gasping

for air.

He turned to the barkeep and asked, "d…do you h..have a room?" still winded.

"You're in luck sir, I have one more room but you'll have to share."

"That's fine what room is it?" Keith asked as the barkeep handed him a key.

"Number 24,second room from the stairs."

_"_Thank you."

He pushed through the crowd and walked up some stairs. Turning to his left he walked over to the second door, inserted the key and walked into the room.

There was armor stacked in the corner of the room. Men had already been in here and left. He took his armor off and put it beside a bed. He turned and exited the room heading down stairs to

join the celebration.


End file.
